Joe Bishop

Joe Bishop (November 27, 1907, Monticello, Arkansas - May 12, 1976, Houston, Texas) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer.

Bishop learned piano, trumpet, and tuba when young, and also played flugelhorn and mellophone. He attended Hendrix College, and played professionally with the Louisiana Ramblers in 1927, including in Mexico. He then played with Mart Britt, Al Katz, and Austin Wylie before joining Isham Jones's band for five years. He was a founding member of Woody Herman's band in the 1930s, but he contracted tuberculosis in 1940 and had to leave the group. He was rehired by Herman as a staff arranger later in the 1940s, and his arrangements and compositions were recorded frequently by Herman, appearing on some 50 of Herman's albums. As a performer, Bishop played with Cow Cow Davenport and Jimmy Gordon's Vip Vop Band, but retired from studio work due to his health in the 1950s. He quit music and opened a store in Saranac Lake, New York, and later retired to Texas.

Bishop's compositions include "Midnight Blue", "Woodchopper's Ball", and "Blue Prelude" (with Gordon Jenkins), and his work has been covered by musicians as diverse as Ten Years After and Lawrence Welk.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 27, 1907 (Monticello), Died May 12, 1976 (Houston)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1941

Roles Represented in DAHR: flugelhorn, composer, arranger, songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 151 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-47027 10-in. 9/14/1928 Regret will be joy Mart Britt Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Victor BS-75736 10-in. 4/6/1933 Blue prelude Isham Jones Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-76574 10-in. 7/6/1933 Blue prelude George Hall ; Hotel Taft Orchestra ; Loretta Lee Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-76735 10-in. 7/24/1933 Jealousy Isham Jones Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-78201 10-in. 10/13/1933 Jealousy Isham Jones Orchestra ; Gertrude Niesen Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-83177 10-in. 7/16/1934 Out of space Isham Jones Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-83180 10-in. 7/16/1934 Blue lament Isham Jones Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-89794 10-in. 5/13/1935 Nothin' but the blues Gene Gifford Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-89795 10-in. 5/13/1935 New Orleans twist Gene Gifford Orchestra Jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor BS-035768 10-in. 4/19/1939 Blue evening Bob Allen ; Hal Kemp Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-035784 10-in. 4/24/1939 Blue evening Three Reasons ; Dick Todd Male vocal solo, with female vocal trio and jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-037152 10-in. 5/25/1939 Blue evening Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-042729 10-in. 9/25/1939 Out of space Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-042981 10-in. 10/18/1939 Out of space Hal Kemp Orchestra ; Nan Wynn Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-063827 10-in. 4/29/1941 Blue prelude New Music [Shep Fields] Jazz/dance band composer  
Decca 61389 10-in. 11/6/1936 Wintertime dreams Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61390 10-in. 11/6/1936 Someone to care for me Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61403 10-in. 11/10/1936 The goose hangs high Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61404 10-in. 11/10/1936 Now that Summer is gone Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61405 10-in. 11/10/1936 I can't pretend Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61406 10-in. 11/10/1936 Old-fashioned swing Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61447 10-in. 12/3/1936 Mr. Ghost goes to town Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 61448 10-in. 12/3/1936 Better get off your high horse Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 62150 10-in. 4/26/1937 Dupree blues Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 62151 10-in. 4/26/1937 Doctor Jazz Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
(Results 1-25 of 151 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bishop, Joe," accessed June 2, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108488.

Bishop, Joe. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108488.

"Bishop, Joe." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 2 June 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108488

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